Family History Books - Kenneth Milano

At the heart of Fishtown is the final resting place of generations of Kensington and Fishtown residents. Founded prior to 1748, Palmer Cemetery is one of the oldest in Philadelphia. Interred here and in Hanover Street and West Street Burial Grounds are soldiers from every war fought by colonists and then Americans, from the French and Indian War until Desert Storm. The fishing and shipbuilding families who built the neighborhood, victims of the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 and the ancestors of the Shibe family, the owners of the Philadelphia Athletics, are also buried in these plots. Kenneth W. Milano walks the cemetery paths and reveals the secrets the stones keep with Palmer Cemetery and the Historic Burial Grounds of Kensington & Fishtown.
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: The History Press (February 18, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1609492420
ISBN-13: 978-1609492427
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.4 inches

In 1682, on the banks of the Delaware River, William Penn and a group of Indian chiefs met beneath the shade of a large elm tree. The resulting Treaty of Amity and Friendship paved the way for the founding of the Pennsylvania colony and became a universal symbol of religious and civil liberty. Despite its protection by sentinels during the American Revolution, the great elm was finally uprooted in an 1810 storm, making national headlines. In honor of Penn's inspirational diplomacy, Kenneth W. Milano explores the frenzy of artists and historians interest in this historical landmark and chronicles the Penn Society's efforts to commemorate the place of Penn's Treaty and the public-spirited citizens of Kensington's success in memorializing the site through the construction of Penn Treaty Park.

The native americans called it shackamaxon, the place where the chiefs meet, but Kensington soon became a meeting place of a different kind. Ideologies and demagogues, industry and entrepreneurs all came together in Kensington and Fishtown. Kensington was the epicenter of the American vegetarian movement, and a decade later the area's shipyards gave birth to the U.S. Navy's first submarine. In Kensington & Fishtown, native son Kenneth W. Milano presents a collection of fascinating and diverse articles from his column The Rest is History. Relive the golden age of Kensington and Fishtown as you learn about their fascinating pasts.

The docks and alleys of Philadelphia's riverward neighborhoods teem with forgotten stories and strange histories. In the overlooked corners of Kensington and Fishtown are the launching of the Industrial Revolution, the bizarre double suicide of the Rusk twins and the violent Cramp Shipyard strike. With a collection of his "The Rest Is History" columns from the Fishtown Star, local historian Kenneth Milano chronicles little-known tales from the Speakeasy War of 1890 to stories of seldom-recognized hometown hero Eddie Stanky, who went on to play for the 1951 New York Giants. Join Milano as he journeys into the secret history of two of the city's oldest neighborhoods.